The Sharia of Moses in the TORAPart 2 - The 365 Prohibitions of the Tora

44 - SHAVING THE BEARD

Leviticus 19:27 -- “You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.”

The Mishnah says: “For shaving off the beard one is liable on five counts: two counts for the right side, two for the left, and one for lower down. R. Eliezer says: If he took them all off in a single movement, he is liable only on one count.”*; and from this the Talmud concludes: “Hence we must conclude that R. Eliezer considers the whole process as covered by the one prohibition.”**

* Mak. 20a (Sonc. ed. p. 141)** Ibid., 21a (Sonc. ed. p. 145)

This prohibition applies only to the marring of the beard with a razor; there is nothing against cutting off the beard with scissors, tweezers, or plane-like or file-like tools.*